


I think this galaxy is precious

by Square_star3



Category: Mass Effect, Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-29
Updated: 2017-05-01
Packaged: 2018-10-25 05:18:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10757508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Square_star3/pseuds/Square_star3
Summary: Sara is finding it hard to keep composed with the hopes of a new galaxy on her shoulders and she's struggling to understand what she feels for her crew mate, Vetra Nyx, but with time and trust, things start to come together.





	1. It's nice to see you

**Author's Note:**

> I actually don't have much time on my hands at the moment haha so I don't think I'll update regularly unless I really feel like procrastinating (I wouldn't be surprised if I did procrastinate though)
> 
> Anyway, I hope you all enjoy!! This is my first fanfic so?????? Everyone says I'm pretty good at writing though so I hope you all like my work!

There was something about Andromeda. The stars, the nebulae, it was as if everything was at a standstill for just a moment. It felt like time had just stopped for Ryder, her head rested in her hands as she gazed into the seemingly contempt void. She couldn’t quite place her finger on it, as if everything new still seemed familiar. There wasn’t too much that differentiated the two galaxies, there were still planets and stars after all. She sat in the silence, the soft hum of the tempest and her breath being the only sounds she could hear. There was so much happening around Sara on the ship, yet, she still felt lonely. She missed Scott, her mother and her father but she couldn’t see them, not now anyways. She stood, loneliness would eventually catch up to her if things continued like this. She looked at the clock.  
12:23 am.  
She sighed, _Way too early for anyone to be awake. Guess I should be ok for a quick walk. Might help me sleep. ___  
Sara opened her door, her feet quietly stepping on the deck. Wearing socks without shoes really seemed to help. There was a soft clatter coming from upstairs. It must have been Jaal, he rarely tended to sleep at the same time as everyone else.  
Maybe it would be worth stopping by after a little while, Sara thought.  
There was no harm in paying him a visit if he wasn’t going to sleep. Sara had just kept walking, her intention still unclear. The Nomad seemed to be her prime destination however. She would always climb it and lay down on top, hoping a change of scenery would do her good. It had become an easy climb with time, her feet and arms moving without the need to think. The Nomad was cold, despite all the hot lights shining down on the metal. She lay down on her back but there was nothing. Not like there normally was anyway. The loneliness had followed her down the corridor, dragging her sensitive consciousness along with it. She felt a tear roll lightly down her pale cheek. Screwing up her face to erase the sadness, her pushed back her dark fringe away from her face. There was no where she could go where her emotions wouldn’t follow. With her eyes closed, Ryder let the familiar darkness encompass her. Sleep would make her feel better maybe . . .  
“Hey Ryder.”  
Sara snapped open her eyes. The voice was familiar, not one she had made up to keep her company. She pushed herself up in a hurry to find a friendly face staring up at her from below the Nomad, Vetra.  
There was a soft chuckle, “Should I even ask why you’re all the way up there?”  
“I- I just couldn’t sleep! I thought maybe. . .,” Sara said, stumbling over her words.  
“It’s alright,” she laughed again, “You don’t have to explain.”  
Ryder’s heart was pounding, not just from freight though. There was something about Vetra, something intriguing. She wanted to know everything and more about her. Her presence enchanted her, Ryder wanted to pursue it but she felt she couldn’t. Worry loomed over her head again but she wasn’t even sure if what she felt was true or even if Vetra felt the same way.  
_I doubt she would _, Sara thought, letting out a loud sigh.__  
“Hmm? Did you say something?” Vetra asked, looking up from her work. She mustn’t of been paying attention to Ryder after their conversation ended.  
“Ah, no. Nothing,” Ryder said softly, head hanging low slightly.  
Ryder pushed herself down the bonnet of the Nomad, sliding down the cool metal. Jumping off, she quickly made haste to leave the room, her heart beating quickly in her chest.

Jaal was still clattering about on the top deck, it was a wonder people could sleep hearing all that noise. Ryder was hoping a chat with Jaal might take her mind off everything and calm her down. Jaal was always up for a chat while he worked. He’d recently been introduced to ‘memes’, a human form of joke. He absolutely loved them, almost abusing them with every chance he had. What she was really hoping for was that he might be able to cheer her up with his naïve nature. The automated door opened for her promptly, Jaal too absorbed in his thoughts to notice her come in.  
“Knock knock,” Ryder said, smiling from ear to ear.  
Jaal dropped the tool he was using in fright, quickly spinning to look at the voice.  
“Ryder! I’m sorry, I did not hear you enter,” He stuttered, taking a deep breath to regain his composure.  
After a short silence, the two erupted into a loud burst of laughter. For a second, it felt as if her worries had disappeared.  
“I’m sorry,” Ryder said in between giggles, “I didn’t mean to interrupt your work, Jaal.”  
“It is quite alright, my friend. I wasn’t doing anything important,” Jaal stopped laughing and looked up at Sara with a more insightful expression, “Is something the matter, Ryder?”  
Ryder looked away in an instant, struggling to keep her hands from fidgeting, “Nothing at all. Just worried about the usual, I guess.”  
“If it was the _‘usual’ _then you would not be acting so reluctant to say anything. You can speak to me if you need,” Jaal spoke, his words staying true. He would always be there for her.__  
Ryder sighed. Maybe talking it out with Jaal would help her feel better.  
“I’m just so lonely, even with everyone around me. It’s as if there’s a void in my chest that keeps swallowing me up and I’m just not sure what to do. Everything is starting to take its toll on me. My heavy heart is starting to crush me,” Ryder said, her voice fading to almost a whisper.  
“Just give it time. With time, that void will be filled. We’re all here for you when you need us to be and we’ll never leave you. The universe is too big to be feeling lonely already,” Jaal responded, placing a calm and reassuring hand on her shoulder  
“Have you ever had someone special to share a journey with?” Ryder asked quietly.  
“Not yet but I am still looking. Have you found who you’re looking for by chance?” He asked.  
“I think I have. She’s tall, great with guns, caring and a total badass.” 


	2. The gravity that holds us down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for the Tempest crew to take a bit of a break from all their hard work but Ryder's worries are still following her around

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter two is here! It's a bit longer than before but haha still pretty short ;w; Stay with me everyone! It will get better!!

Ryder pressed her face into her hands. The arguing never ceased when they were having a meeting. Ever. Nor did they ever think of listening to her more than occasionally. Everyone had started to grow tense with all this work they were doing and the extended period in space really wasn’t helping at all. Ryder was convinced that she’d start getting frown lines soon for all this arguing. Finally, she broke.  
“Can you all just stop yelling at each other for five minutes, please?” Sara yelled over the top of all of them.  
They all just looked, stopping mid conversation to stare her down with surprised looks on their faces. Ryder took a deep breath, _Finally! ___  
“Why don’t we all take a bit of shore leave on the Nexus because it really sounds like we need it. Take a day. Relax, get smashed or play some poker, I don’t care what you do as long as you all calm yourselves down,” She said in a huff, still massaging her face with her hand.  
There was silence for a few moments while they took in what she said.  
“Are you serious?” someone piped up from the back. Ryder didn’t really seem to care who.  
“I have to go back there anyway to check on how the Salarians are settling in and take care of all the politics that the rest of you don’t have to worry about,” She said, looking back up at the crew whom were still slightly surprised at what she had said, “We’ve all been through a lot recently and need some time to cool off. You don’t approve of it? I don’t care. Dismissed.”

Ryder made her way back to room. The meeting was a total success! Ah, not really. It definitely was not a success. However, in Ryder’s defence, it was never success. All they ever did was argue at each other. She ran a hand through her brown fringe, pushing it out of her face despite the fact that it looked stupid when she did that. Sometimes she just wanted them to cooperate and discuss things without everyone getting agitated. Ryder was on the home stretch, she could finally collapse on her bed for a quick nap.  
“Ryder, wait!”  
_Vetra. ___  
Ryder quickened her pace slightly, she really couldn’t do this right now. She just needed some quiet and an awkward conversation with Vetra, that always inevitably left her to feel sorry for herself, was not the thing she needed right now. However, she couldn’t really ignore Vetra and these pressing feelings as much as she would like.  
“Ryder!” Vetra called again.  
Eventually Ryder gave in, spinning on her heel to face her. Vetra was right behind her, slowing from her slight jog.  
“Yes? Sorry, I’m just a bit tired,” Sara said, refusing to make eye contact with the tall Turian.  
“I’m sorry about everyone in the meeting room,” she sighed, “They’re just assholes sometimes but they have a right, we’ve all been flat out doing as much as we can and I-“  
Ryder looked up at Vetra for just a moment, studying the mesmerising colours of her eyes. The Turian was at a loss for words, eyes darting around trying to think of something to say.  
“It’s alright. I get it. Maybe a day or two on the Nexus will help us relax. Besides, I have work to do there anyway so we would have had to go anyway,” Ryder said, breaking the silence between the two.  
Was she the only one noticed Vetra’s awkwardness towards her? Was she imagining it? She had to be imagining it, there was _nothing _between them.__

_____ _

The Tempest dropped out of its FTL jump with great success, like it always tended to do. Kallo was a fantastic pilot.  
“Nice one, Kallo,” Ryder remarked as he pulled them in towards the Nexus.  
The large space station glowed with millions of lights, so many that one would never be bothered to count. The Hyperion and the Paarchero, the Human and Salarian arks, were docked. Many colonists were still in stasis due to the Nexus being unable to provide for everyone, even if they would like to.  
“You’re clear to dock, Tempest,” a voice said over the comms.  
The Tempest made its flight in to the docking bay. Space miraculously turned to a beautiful blue sky. The Nexus was in its day cycle but it wouldn’t be long until it started its night cycle. The colonists were out and about as the work day had begun to end. The docking bay seemed to be the prime place to meet your friends before heading to the bar for a few drinks. The rest of the crew had come up to the bridge to have a look as well. A hand was placed on Ryder’s shoulder from behind. She turned to look out of curiosity. It was Vetra’s, Ryder following the hand to meet her striking eyes again. Sara blushed, realising what she was doing, and quickly flicked her head back to focus on what was going on out the window. She wasn’t really focused on that as all however, she was focused on the warm hand that was rested on her own shoulder. 

_“Pathfinder!”_  
“Welcome, Pathfinder.”  
The greetings from the colonists would range from welcoming to cheerful to frustrated. Not everyone was happy with what the Pathfinder team were doing, Ryder especially. She hated walking through the Nexus and she was sure she wasn’t the only member of the crew that hated it. People like Kallo, Gil and Suvi decided to stay behind to make sure everything was alright with the ship and nothing needed attending to. Ryder wanted to detour somewhere quiet for a bit, get away from all the noise. She parted ways with the rest of the Tempest crew as they all started going their separate routes. She could get on top of one of the buildings possibly. She didn’t even stop to think of it any further, she had just started climbing. The noise was still there buy there wasn’t anyone to give her frustrated looks and to yell directly at her face. Ryder just sat there, cross legged, taking in the serene beauty of the station. It was nothing compared to the Citadel but it was beautiful in its own right. It almost felt like real peace for a moment. A sort of chaotic peace, however.  
“I didn’t expect to find you here, Ryder,” A voice said from behind her.  
It was Vetra. No matter how much Ryder wanted to avoid he, right now she couldn’t.  
“Yeah. . .,” Ryder said, her voice quiet.  
“Is everything alright?” Vetra said, placing a hand on her arm as she came to sit next to her.  
Ryder’s heart skipped a beat, it already fluttering in her chest.  
“Yeah, everything is fine. Why do you ask?” She said, trying her hardest to smile at Vetra.  
“It’s like you’re avoiding me. I don’t know if I’ve done anything to upset you or-“  
“No! You haven’t done anything! I’m just under a lot of stress, I guess,” Ryder said frantically, interrupting Vetra mid-sentence.  
Ryder sighed. She didn’t want to mess this up, even if it meant talking with her and causing her heart to ache.  
“I’m here if you need anyone to chat to, you know that,” Vetra said, her eyes soft and compassionate.  
Ryder just nodded, yawning. She leaned back, lying down on the cool surface, and close her eyes. She felt herself drift away for a bit. Vetra would stay with her, wouldn’t she? It would be fine like this, wouldn’t it? Her thoughts became fuzzed as she fell into sleep. Once Vetra was sure she was asleep, she too leaned back to lay next to her, taking Ryder’s hand in hers. She would stay with her. Even if Ryder didn’t want that. 


End file.
